Lost n Found
by Sunscorched
Summary: A little down time can be fun.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Down Time

Summary: A lil down time goes a long way for the Doctor and Rose.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything unfortunately. If I did, I'd hire someone to do my typing for me ;-D

Distribution: You want it, just ask.

Part 1

"Go on," she said, her lips spread wide in a large smile that flashed all her teeth and rounded her cheeks.

"I'm nine hundred, Rose, not nine."

"So what? Just cus you got a few extra noughts doesn't mean you can't have fun."

Stunning blue eyes rolled as he shook his head. "Childish is what it is, not fun."

"How d'you know it's not fun? Not like you've ever played it before."

"Don't have to," he said with all the arrogance that came with being a Time Lord. "I'm not playing," and pushed himself back under the control support, fully intending to fix a bolt that had been loose since last month. He still couldn't believe that out of all planets and galaxies in the universe, only one shop had a suitable spare part. Oh, the trouble he'd gotten them into trying to get it.

The Doctor grinned up at the bolt as though it could grin back and brought up his trusty screwdriver, ready and willing to get to work. He paused when a soft body dropped down next to him, wavy blonde hair going every which way and an arm squirming around enough to send a bony elbow into his ribs.

"Oops," Rose smiled cheekily when he glowered at her. "Am I interrupting?"

His grip on the screwdriver tightened. Little minx knew she was interrupting. "No," he grouched. "You're not interrupting." Was fixing his ship in peace too much to ask?

"Then you won't mind playing with me."

"Had a game of that Monopoly this morning, didn't we?"

"Till you got bored of losing money. Don't forget you still owe me six grand."

This time he didn't glower, he glared. A full-on, wicked glare that merely caused her to laugh. "You cheated, Rose Tyler." He was absolutely certain of it. "You were sneaking money out the bank. I saw you. Crime like that? Should be doing time, you."

"I didn't cheat and you know it. You're just a sore loser. That why you don't wanna play? In case you lose?"

Him? Lose? Never. "You women," the Doctor sighed. "With your big eyes and your flirty lashes and pouty lips..." He shook his head in mock shame of the female species. "Manipulaters, the lot of you."

Rose's smile only changed size to become wider. She batted said lashes and bit her lower lip. "Is it working?"

He blatantly refused to look at her, focusing instead on securing the bolt. "No."

It'd only been the last week or so when she realised his greatest weakness was his heart. Usually, he tried to do things for her without her noticing, but she always did. She noticed he always asked where she wanted to go before making a suggestion. She noticed the pretty pink numbers on her bedroom door that stated her room co-ordinates in Galifreyen numerals. She noticed how he bought her little trinkets from each place they visited and gave them to her with a fact or two about them.

There were lots of other things he did and each one simply made him who he was, and it was this heart she targeted. "I'm only thinking of you, you know," Rose said, sighing as only a woman could when she wanted her own way.

"I'm not listening." Except he was listening. Listening to how her voice got all breathy and whispery and cute, listening to how her fingers brushed her jeans free of invisible specks of dust and more importantly, he was listening to how she was going to talk him into doing something he didn't want to do. He was hardly able to keep the grin off his face as he pretended to fiddle with a stray wire.

"Bet there's loads of places you don't know about on here."

"Doubt it. The TARDIS an me? Been together for ages we have. Not a thing about her I don't know."

"Sure about that?"

It was getting harder to keep from smirking. "Very."

Rose blinked oh so innocently. "Then you know about that little cupboard near my room? Full of all sorts it is." She paused long enough to ignite his curiosity. "Think I saw a hammer somewhere in there."

The Doctor glanced at his companion and arched a brow. "It's still not working," he insisted, then watched as her full lip popped into a spectacular sized pout. Her mouth was free of lipstick today, leaving the natural candy colour to tempt him into reaching out and tugging on it. "You'll trip over that one day if you're not careful."

Her tongue responded by sweeping across her injured lip, making the candy glisten and shine under the soft TARDIS's light. She gave his hand a playful little swat. "Oi you."

"_Oi me_ what?"

Rose shrugged, her lips falling into a smile she invented just for him. "Nothing just... Oi you."

"Well," he smiled a smile invented just for her. "Oi you right back. Fancy a cuppa tea and a biscuit? Sure there's some Digestives left."

"All done then?"

As a matter of fact, he wasn't done. He still had a few more spare parts to add, but there was so much eagerness in her voice that he couldn't say no. The Doctor grinned a grin that made her heart full and sure she made the right choice to be with him. "All done and all yours."

His words put a pretty smile on her face. Not the same kind of smile he got when she teased him and definitely not the same kind of smile he got right before he opened the TARDIS doors after landing on a new planet. The first of those smiles was flirty and fun and it warmed him down to his toes. The second of those smiles was nervous, anticipating, her excitement infecting him though he'd seen it all before. The smile she had now was different.

This smile was small and sweet, bringing a new meaning to her candy coloured mouth. Sweet, he decided, this smile was sweet and demanded he give her his undivided attention for as long as she wanted. Definitely his favourite smile.

The Doctor tapped her nose once on each side with the sonic screwdriver, enjoying how it wrinkled in response. "All yours," he said and easily shuffled his way out from under the support, standing up to offer Rose a hand and didn't let go until she was steady. "So... Hide n seek was it?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Down Time

Summary: A lil down time goes a long way for the Doctor and Rose.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything unfortunately. If I did, I'd hire someone to do my typing for me ;-D

Distribution: You want it, just ask.

Part 2

"Forty-five..."

Giggling, Rose scurried through the TARDIS, turning this way and that in an attempt to find the perfect hiding place. Despite saying she would give him a chance, she wasn't gonna make it easy on him. He had been right when he said he knew his ship inside out, so it wasn't like hiding under her bed would make the grade.

"Forty-six," came over the intercom and she couldn't help but jump at the mock menace in his voice. Still, her giggles turned to breathless laughter when suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Kitchen," she whispered to herself and made for the place that had become their little home of sorts. Wait. No. Not the kitchen. Far too easy. The kitchen was where they had tea and toast every morning, it was where they laughed exhilerated laughs after running for their lives, and it was where they quietly ate fish and chips in silence after a short trip to her mum's.

Ooh! Maybe the kitchen was the perfect place after all. If the Doctor thought it was too easy, then he wouldn't look there and certainly not under the sink.

"Forty-seven..." and she ran faster, her trainers squeaking with every thump of her feet and the halls of the TARDIS became a blur as she raced through them.

"Fortyeight, fortynine..." He wasn't supposed to count that fast. Bloody alien git!

Rose reached her destination by the count of fifty. She had the sink doors open by the end of his "Coming ready or not." She had her feet tucked under her and the doors shut by the time she heard the off click of the intercom. She waited there, fist in her mouth to muffle the giggles and wondering where he was going to look first.

*~*~*

The Doctor eased her bedroom door open and tiptoed in, his blue-grey eyes darting all around the room for any signs of life. There was a lump in her bed, but no. Rose was obviously well versed in the art of this hide n seek malarky, so it was highly unlikely she'd choose such a simple place. The further he entered, the more he realised just how nice she'd done it up.

Photos of her family and friends were stuck to a small corkboard, and he took a closer look, his smile softening the longer he looked. One picture in particular caught his gaze. It was him, well his legs mainly, as they poked out from under the main control system. He rolled his eyes. Ms. Tyler certainly had an odd sense of humour. He left the photos in peace, choosing instead to look at the pile of clothes on a small chair.

He'd lost cound of how many times had he picked up a discarded garment and returned it to this very room and each time he came, he left feeling full of her. He would spend a minute or two touching her things. Pillows, sheets, clothes. He'd trace the engraving of her name on her diary, he'd stroke the head of her teddy bear, and he'd just take it in until he left.

Hold on. If she thought it too simple, then maybe she was hiding in here.

With a grin that went from ear to ear, he inched towards the bed, ready to victoriously find her curled up in her bed. As she explained the rules, she'd bragged about how she was the undefeated first year junior school champion. Apparently she managed to hide under the head mistress' desk and had been there all through lunch break. For an entire year she'd been labelled a hero among the kids, one of them even buying her a packet of sweets.

He'd smirked when he asked the name of the kid and it turned out to be a boy, then shook his head as he said "You and your boyfriends." The real reason behind the sweets became apparent when that tongue of hers got trapped between her teeth in the cheekiest smile he'd ever seen.

The Doctor took a gentle hold of the covers, yanking them back with a triumphant "HA!"

There was no Rose Tyler. He stood for a moment, scratching his head and wondering where she could be when a treasure chest caught his eye. It was the first present he got her and it came from way back when pirates roamed the high seas on Earth. He knew she would love it and she did. Ooohed and ahhed over it for hours she had, then called her mum to ooh and ahh over it some more.

"Treasure chest it is, then," and what a treasure it was. One with lovely blonde hair, peaches and cream skin, big brown eyes and a set of candy pink lips that could probably start an intergalactic war if given the chance. God the thought thrilled him. Oh, he'd had enough wars to last him several more lifetimes, but hell.

Wars over women went back as far as the Time Lords themselves. Helen of Troy, Persephone... The list went on and on. He was sure one more wouldn't hurt the grand scheme of things and he was sure she wouldn't mind one bit if a man fought over her. She had enough boyfriends for it.

The Doctor flipped the lid open, but again there was no Rose Tyler. Where the hell could she be? Where _wouldn't_ she hide? His room? She wouldn't go there.

Would she? Only one way to find out.

He paused just before he headed for the door. If, no, when he won, what would his prize be? Every winner had to have a prize or what was the point of playing? He made a mental note to ask her.

*~*~*

She'd been under the sink for a good ten minutes now and though she wasn't bored, she just wanted him to hurry up and find her. She wanted to see him gloat at his victory, wanted to see the childlike excitement of his first game of hide n seek and more importantly, wanted to see him fix the water slowly soaking her left shoulder.

Mostly though, Rose just wanted to see him. Hide n seek wasn't exactly the best choice for a game. Bit hard for him to be all hers when they were hallways apart. Still, she thought with a smile, it was worth it. Maybe they could play it again and he could be the one to hide. She stiffled a giggle at the image of the Doctor with his long legs and clever hands hiding in this same little place. Definitely worth it.

After a second or so of swallowing back sniggers, she settled down to wait for him to find her.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Down Time

Summary: A lil down time goes a long way for the Doctor and Rose.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything unfortunately. If I did, I'd hire someone to do my typing for me ;-D

Distribution: You want it, just ask.

Part 3

Ridiculous it was. Bloody ridiculous! He'd been all over the TARDIS. Right from the control room to his bedroom to the wardrobe room and library and nothing. Well, not nothing exactly.

He'd found Rose Tyler in every bit of the TARDIS. A pair of her shoes were discovered just behind the main doors, a t-shirt of hers lay over a railing, her coat hung next to his and some earrings were in his jacket pocket. It was then he realised just how much of her had become a part of him. There wasn't a bit of his ship that didn't have some form of Rose in it.

Unfortunately, he may have seen her all over the place, but he hadn't seen her. Next time he was the one doing the hiding. Be fun to see how Ms. Tyler found trying to find someone who knew the TARDIS better than he knew himself.

Then the Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. The whole point of this game was he hadn't played it before and that meant she wanted him to find her, and that meant she would be someplace he would think of. She may not know the ship as well as he, but she knew him and if she knew him...

The answer was out of his mouth before it hit his brain. "Kitchen," he said gleefully. His prize was in the kitchen, no doubt waiting for him with her candy smile and blonde hair. These thoughts took him to the kitchen in less than five minutes, victory gleaming in his eyes as he purposely slowed his footsteps just before entering.

He waited a moment or two to wipe the grin off his face. Wouldn't do to go in there looking too pleased with himself. Still, the Doctor had an urge to burst in there and claim his hard won prize, but he wouldn't. After a couple of deep breaths, he sauntered into the kitchen as though he hadn't just been racing around like a lunatic, the words "Found you" halfway out of his mouth when he realised the kitchen was empty.

There was no candy smiles or blonde hair in sight.

*~*~*

Rose covered her mouth with her hand as she listened to him hurry into the kitchen and come to a halt. She almost succeeded in not giggling when she heard a dumbfounded "Uh," coming from him. She so wanted to nudge the cupboard doors open to see what he was doing, but that would just give her hidey hole away.

What the hell.

As carefully and quietly as she could, she inched one door open and tilted her head so one eye could peer out. She saw his shoes and heard as one of them tap-tap-tapped off the floor. Her gaze followed the line of his legs up to where his screwdriver was currently beating his hip to death. She bit her knuckle hard.

Her poor Doctor was well and truly stumped, and the whole thing was just too much.

Try as she might, she couldn't stop a giggle escaping past her bitten digit. She knew her number was up when his shoe stopped tapping and both feet turned in the direction of the sink. Rose watched with a galaxy sized grin as those feet walked her way and a set of knees bent as he knelt down to see brown iris shining his way.

The Doctor arched a brow as he stared at her through the small crack in the door. "Where could she be hiding I wonder," he said, his voice dry but full of the joys of victory. He pulled both doors wide open, allowing him the pretty sight of excitement flushing her cheeks a soft shade of red. He glanced around the little hiding spot in appreciation. "Love what you've done with the place."

Rose giggled. "You took your time."

"It's what Time Lords do," he replied easily. "Take our time."

The conversation ceased as they shared identical grins as identical memories of days past went through each head. "Come on, then," the Doctor stood and held out his hand for her to take. "Lets get you up."

Warmth spread from his palm to his hearts as her slender little fingers curled round his, her softer than soft skin a lovely contrast against his. The Doctor gently pulled her out from under the sink, not bothering to let her go despite seeing her sound and steady. He gave her little hand a quick squeeze before dragging her towards a table made from broken TARDIS parts.

Rose didn't have a chance to jump up to sit on the tabletop. A firm grip round her waist had her happily perched in a manner that had him standing between her legs. The Doctor noticed her drenched shoulder. "Forgot about that."

"So did I," she confessed. It was hard remembering stuff when he was looking at her like that. "Fix it later, yeah?"

"Yeah," he agreed and changed to a more important topic. "Now about my prize..."

"What prize?"

"I won, didn't I?"

Her forehead crinkled up adorably. "You found me..."

He flashed her a cocky smirk. "Then I won. Winners always get a prize. It's in the rules."

"No," Rose countered. "You only win if I can't find you."

The Time Lord stroked his chin and appeared deeply thoughtful. "Don't remember you saying that and I remember everything."

"Everything?" She asked, her lips twitching in amusement. "How come you forgot my birthday then?"

His expression was a true Kodak moment. Blue-grey orbs grew wide, jaw dropped, and face paled. It lasted until her laughter rang out like music, letting him know he'd been well and truly had. "You know what you are, Rose Tyler?"

"What am I?"

"A con artist," said he in a tone that stated he was not impressed. "An out and out con artist. Making me play silly games an leading me on a wild goose chase on my own ship... Must've been mad to take you on. Mad."

Rose swung her legs back and forth, the toes of her trainers occasionally catching his shins. "You _are_ mad."

The Doctor grabbed her legs, pulling her closer to the table edge. "I'm not the one who hid under the sink."

She giggled at the look on his face. "Wasn't gonna make it easy on you, was I?"

"Would've been fairer on me," he grumbled. "I was up against the undefeated first year junior school champion." He shuddered in mock terror. "Scariest time of my life that was."

Rose slapped his chest then found his hand on top of hers, keeping it where she could feel both his hearts, the double beat strange and amazing. "You saying I'm terrifying?"

He stared at her big brown eyes and candy lips and answered honestly. "Yep."

"Cheeky."

His head went from side to side. "Honest."

"You'll be telling me you sleep with one eye open next."

"How d'you know I don't? Unless..." Blue-grey irises narrowed. "Have you been spying on me, Rose Tyler?"

Those big browns of hers didn't stop twinkling with mischief. "How d'you know I don't? Unless you really do sleep with one eye open. Do you?"

The Doctor snorted back laughter. "I can safely say not. D'you spy?"

Rose shrugged, the conversation turning from light-hearted banter to something more serious. "Sometimes," she confessed. "Just to make sure."

She didn't need to say anymore. He knew it was the Reapers playing on her mind. A mistake made by both of them had rendered him dead and her in a past he shouldn't have taken her too.

"Come 'ere." His arms were around her, pulling her close and squeezing tight, feeling her cheek rubbing softly against his chest. Her perfume was different, he noted. Usually she wore a light floral fragrance that fit her name, but not today.

Today she smelled of oranges and lemons and each breath of it thawed a part of him he thought long frozen. "Wanna know something?" She nodded, the motion rubbing warmth into him. "I spy on you, too. Just to make sure."

Like her, he didn't need to say more. He'd closed the door and left her with a Dalek. He knew that no matter how long he lived, he'd never forget the look on her face as she stood there, bravely giving him her blessing to do what he needed to do. Not once had she blamed him just as he didn't blame her for the Reapers, but Christ. She'd brought him to his knees when she hadn't blamed him and when that Dalek said what he couldn't, what he wouldn't, he knew he'd save her despite the consequences.

He had saved her, there was living proof right in front of him that she was warm and safe, yet there were times late at night when her lovely little face flushed with tears would go round and round his head. It was those times he would go to her room and watch her sleep, replacing that sight with one where that same lovely little face held nothing but the peace of sleep.

"I knew you would, you know." Her voice was muffled by his jumper as she continued to bury her face in his jumper.

"Knew I would what?" The Doctor asked, enjoying this moment of intimacy. It felt nice to take care of her like this, felt nice to run his hands soothingly up and down her back. Hang on. Something was different about her. Not bad or good different. Just... Different.

"Save me," Rose replied before he could say anything. "I knew you would."

His grip got that bit tighter and his eyes closed, the pleasure of simply holding her getting to him in more ways than one. "It's what Time Lords do," and then it hit him what was different. She was thinner. Not much, but enough for him to tell. He pulled back to stare at her quizzically.

"What?"

"You've lost weight."

Confusion washed over her face. "Eh?"

The Doctor once again ran his hands down her body and the curves that were different. "You've lost weight."

"Only a couple of pounds. Backside looks better though."

"Why?" Now he was the confused one. "You were lovely."

"Were?" Both her eyebrows arched, silently telling him to tread very carefully. "I'm not lovely now?"

Oops. Bad choice of words. "Yes," he amended quickly and hoped that thin ice beneath his feet held out. "You're still lovely, but why?"

She couldn't keep from smiling. "You never said running for your life was so healthy."

Reassured she hadn't done something silly like diet, the Doctor returned her smile and treated her body to another squeeze. "Full of big surprises, me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," he said then realised the way she twisted his words. "You've got a filthy mind, Rose Tyler."

Never one to let go of a good bit of fun, she gladly countered. "Guess you're rubbing off on me."

The Doctor tried not to laugh, really he did, but it was no good and the chuckles bubbled up his throat and out of his mouth. It was a deep, rich sound that tickled Rose pink and made her wonder what she could do next to make him laugh some more. "Ah hell," he said when his merriment faded. "What would I do without you, eh?"

"Rub off on yourself I suppose."

"An your mum called me the dirty one." He rubbed the cheek that Jackie Tyler slapped. If only the woman knew what her daughter was really like. "Speaking of. I won, remember? Where's my prize?"

"You can't have a prize unless I lose or give up."

Little did she know she'd just given him a loop hole and he loved loop holes. Loop holes had been his best friends since the dawn of his existance. He looked thoughtfully at her. How did he get her to give up? "Does it have to be the same game?"

Rose really didn't like the gleam in his eye. "No, why?"

"In that case..." The Doctor grinned wickedly. "Run."


End file.
